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JOHN I-IUMPHREY, OF KEENE, NEIV HAMPSHIRE.

TOOL FOB SLOTTING CLGTHES-PINS.

Specication of Letters Patent No. 22,430, dated December 28, 1858.

T o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN HUMPHREY, of Keene, in the county of Cheshireand State of New I-Iampshire, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Machines for Cutting' Slots in Clothes-Pins; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification.

In order to show more clearly the nature and object of my invention, Iwill allude briefly to the devices heretofore employed for the samepurpose of mine, naming their defects which it is desirable to overcome.

The usual mode of slotting clothes-pins has been to cut narrow orstraight slots or kerfs in them, with a circular saw having cutters nearits periphery, for smoothing thev sides of the slot. The outer ends ofthese slots were then widened or flared (or as it is usually termedtipped by means of cutters attached to a reciprocating slide or gate,arranged to cut obliquely on each side of the slot made by the saw.Cutters have also been similarly arranged upon a revolving arbor andused for the same purpose. This required two operations, sawing andtipping. A circular saw having cutters formed on its sides, for flaringits slot has also been used, as may be seen in O. P. Allens patentgranted May 14, 1850. These cutters were usually formed of portions ofthe plate of the saw bent outward, and were subject to severalimperfections which were an obstacle to their use. rThey were difficultto make, oftentimes they were broken by bending them to a proper form,`thus spoiling the saw. In other instances they would not retain theposition in which they were set 7 but would spring out of place,requiring much labor and care to keep them in order, and they were noteasy to adjust. They were difficult t0 sharpen, as they could not beremoved to be ground, and as the plate of a saw is not suitably temperedfor such cutters, it was necessary to sharpen them very often,consequently they were soon worn away, and the saw rendered useless. Thesaws were also weakened by having the plate cut away so much where itreceived no support from the collars of the arbor that it was unsafe torun them at a sufficient speed, lest they should fly in pieces (as theyhave done in some instances) endangering the life of the user. It isalso difficult and expensive to attach cutters made in separate pieces,to the sides of a saw, so as Ato have themwork well and be safe to use,and such have no means of adjustment, for making slots of differentlengths and sizes, or to compensate for the wearing away of themselvesor the saw, and they soon become worn out of shape, or too small, sothat a comparatively small amount of work is performed by them beforethey must be replaced by new ones. To obviate these defects has longbeen a desideratum, and to produce a device for the simultaneous sawingand tipping so as to form a perfect slot at a single operation, havingcutters that may be easily detached to be sharpened, readily reset,acurately adjusted to, and securely held in, any required position, andat the same time be more durable, and less expensive than othersheretofore used is the obj ect of my invention, which consists in amethod of arranging tipping knives or cutters, to act simultaneouslywith a saw which cuts the narrow or straight slots, by having themsecured to disks or flanches on its arbor or shaft,-portions of theplate of the saw being removed, or cut away, to make place for thecutters, so that they may be held independently of it, by the flanches,and be free to be removed, adjusted, &c., as will more fully appear inthe following description of the mode of constructing and using thesame.

Figure l, of the drawings, is an end view of the device. Fig. 2, is aview at the side, or parallel with its axis of motion. Fig. 3,represents a clothes-pin, and shows the form of the slot.

A, represents the arbor or shaft of the saw, it may be made in anyproper manner, and be furnished with suitable journals for its support,and a bandwheel for giving it 'motion B, and B, are two flanges or disksone of which is made fast to the shaft, and the other secured to it, byscrew-bolts Z), Z), b, 5. In them are recesses for the tipping knives orcutters C, C, which cut the flaring part of the slot, (as seen at s,Fig. 3,) their shape corresponding thereto. They are secured to theianges by screws a, and c, c, the inner end of each having a thread init, for screw, a, which passes through a mortise m, in the flanch, whichallows the cutter to be adjusted in the direction of its length, to suitthe length of the slots required, and to compensate for the decreasingdiameter of the saw -as it becomes worn. The outer ends of the cuttersare firmly held between the screws c, c, by which they may be moved in alateral direction, suHiciently to widen or flare the slots any amountdesired. By withdrawing screw a, and loosening one of the screws c, thecutter can be taken out to be sharpened or repaired, and can be easilyreset.

D, is a circular saw of suflicient thickness to cut the narrow orstraight portion of the slot,-pieces of its plate d, CZ, CZ, d, near itsperiphery, are filed and set so as to form cut ters for smoothing thesides of the slots. It is confined between and carried by the flanges B,B. Portions of its plate, as represented by lines e, 6,) are removed, orcut away, so as not to interfere with the cutters C, C.

To use this device, it is arranged with other suitable mechanism forholding` the pins, and presenting them to it, when it will cut a perfectslot at a single operation, as, quickly as the narrow part alone couldbe cut in the usual manner. It may be used in connection with theimproved machine for which Letters-Patent (No. 16,923) were granted tome March 31, 1857, or with other mechanism which itis not necessary todescribe here, as several kinds are known to which it may be applied.

By cutting a perfect slot at one operation, more than one-half theexpense of the work is saved, the utility of a device which willaccomplish itis therefore obvious, also the advantages of oneconstructed, so that the cutters may be removed, reset and adjusted forthe purposes stated, and by having portions of the plate cut from thesaw, so as to insert cutters which are held independent of it, by theflanges, in the manner which I have described, these useful results areattained.

The cutters can be quickly and accurately set, to any required position,and be securely kept therein, or be easily removed when necessary.

This saw and cutters can be made in a superior manner, and at lessexpense than one having cutters formed of or attached to its plate, itis also more durable inasmuch as the cutters are capable of adjustmentto compensate for the wear, so that more than twice the amount of workcan be performed by it, than by one having fixed cutters.

Although considerable portions of the plate of this saw, are cut away,yet it is so well supported by the flanges, which are necessarily largeand strong, in order to hold the cutters, that it is quite as strong asa whole saw would be with collars of the usual size.

I do not claim by themselves, a saw hav ing the cutters d, cl, d, d,near its periphery for smoothing the sides of its slot, nor the cuttersfor tipping or flaring the outer ends of the slots, when separatelyused. And I disclaim, the use of cutters formed of, or attached to, thesides of a circular saw, as described in Letters-Patent granted O. P.Allen, May 14, 1850.

I am also aware that it is not new to attach cutters to the shafts ofcircular saws, so that both may operate simultaneously, and I do notbroadly claim such an arrangement, but

I claim- Arranging knives or cutters, to widen or flare the outer endsof the slots in clothespins, simultaneously with the sawing thereof, byhaving portions of the plate of the saw removed, and the cutters securedto the disks or flanges on the arbor, and held thereby independent ofthe saw, as herein shown and described, by which arrangement, a perfectand complete slot may be cut at a single operation, and the cutters maybe quickly and accurately adjusted to any required position, and besecurely kept therein, or be readily removed when desired, as set forth.

JOHN HUMPHREY. litnesses GEO. W. STURTEVANT, T. H. FLINT.

